


Thank Your Lucky Stars

by SkyFireForever



Category: The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Bertie Gets Mechanized, Bertie Lives, M/M, Multi, Other, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Trans Bertie, Trans Character, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26869396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFireForever/pseuds/SkyFireForever
Summary: You wouldn’t want your corpse to go to waste.So the Mechanisms don’t let Bertie’s corpse go to waste. Instead, they mechanize him.
Relationships: Bertie/Gunpowder Tim (The Mechanisms), The Mechanisms Ensemble/The Mechanisms Ensemble
Comments: 16
Kudos: 83





	1. The Four of Us

War was hell. 

It was the worst kind of hell that Bertie could possibly imagine. 

It was freezing cold, death was constantly around the corner, and some of the people they were forced to fight beside were absolutely awful. Bertie wasn’t sure how he was supposed to make it through, but somehow, he did. 

He even managed to keep up his optimistic spirit through most of it. He sang songs, talked about what he would do once this was all over, and did it all with his best friend, Tim. 

Tim was something special. The two of them had been friends since childhood, always at each other’s sides. They used to get up to so much trouble when they were kids, running around without a care in the world. They did everything together. Even went to their senior prom together. (Just as friends, though they both ended up getting drunk and Tim had asked him to kiss him, which Bertie had done. They never spoke of it again, though.)

So, when the war rolled around and they became old enough to enlist, it only made sense for them to enlist together. 

And now they fought together. 

Though, Bertie would have done anything for Tim not to be here with him. Don’t get him wrong, Tim made things a hell of a lot easier to get through, but he didn’t deserve to be in this mess. He deserved to be safe at home. Not here. Not fighting for his life. 

The other people who fought beside them were rather curious individuals indeed. 

There was Jonny, a wild chap with a hunger for violence and who seemed to take pleasure in death, no matter who was dying. It honestly creeped Bertie out quite a bit.

Then, there was the Toy Soldier, who was a curious fellow. It disappeared for long stretches of time and for some reason, obeyed any order given to it. This proved to be problematic when it started fighting for the other side. 

Bertie didn’t much care for his fellow soldiers, but he didn’t wish any harm upon them. They were just people at the end of the day. People, the same as he and Tim. He didn’t utterly despise them the way Tim seemed to hate Jonny. 

To be fair, Jonny was always poking fun at Tim, always egging him on. He didn’t seem to want to leave the poor guy alone. He relished whenever their comrades fell, laughed when others were crying, but Bertie couldn’t blame him for that. Everyone handled war differently. Bertie himself tried to make light of some pretty dark things. Who was he to judge? 

Bertie would lay down his life for any of his fellow soldiers, Jonny included. Not because he had some death wish; no, he very much wanted to live, but because they were  _ people _ and Bertie would give his life to save just about anyone. Everyone had lives to live. They deserved to live them. 

It so happened that he got his chance to play the hero. 

They were fighting. Jonny was shouting at the enemy soldiers, taunting them, daring them to shoot them. He didn’t see the soldier with her gun pointed directly at his chest. 

Bertie did. 

“Jonny!” He jumped in front of the gun and felt a pain in his stomach. He fell to his knees, a hand clutching his wound. He looked down to see his hand absolutely drenched in blood. He looked up to see Jonny’s surprised face. 

And then he heard laughter. 

Jonny’s laughter. 

A cackling, deranged laughter. 

It was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

And then he woke up. 

His stomach felt heavy. Heavier than it ever had. And yet he didn’t feel full. 

He blinked around at the harsh light, not having a clue where he was. He slowly sat up, wincing in pain. Everything ached. 

His gaze landed on a woman who was sitting in a chair beside the bed he was laying on. 

“Good, you’re awake.” She smiled. “My name is Doctor Carmilla. Welcome aboard the Aurora.” 


	2. The Moon Was Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is kinda shitty, but oh well.

Bertie squinted at the woman sitting beside the bed, not recognizing her at all. He distantly had the thought that he liked her red hair, but he shook that thought off. 

“Doctor Carmilla?” He echoed, staring at her. A doctor. That made sense, as he had been wounded in battle. But he had never seen nor heard of a medic matching her description. And even if he was wounded, he shouldn’t have been taken aboard an entirely separate ship to be healed. That would take too much time and resources. 

The room he was in was a blinding white, everything from the ceiling to the walls to the floor were white. It was so different from the drowning darkness of the grays and blacks he was used to on the moon. He took a breath, not understanding the weight in his gut. He pressed a hand to his stomach, assuming that the strange feeling was being caused by gas or nerves or something that would fade over time. 

“Oh, that would be your mechanism.” The woman told him with a smile, as though she somehow knew his thoughts. “The weight you’re feeling? The strange feeling? It’s your mechanism.” 

Bertie blinked at her. “My what?” He didn’t understand what a mechanism was, had never heard the word before. 

“Your mechanism.” The doctor repeated. “I suppose a bit of an explanation is in order.” She rested her hands on either of the armrests on her chair. “I have several children and I’ve been searching for someone who could fit into our family.” She explained. “And some of my children enjoy fighting and spending their time amongst battlefields. Which is why we were here, in your moon war.” She went on. “And then you took a bullet meant for my boy, proving yourself to be a good person.” She smiled. “And when I heard about this, along with other things my children told me about you, I knew you would be perfect.” 

That didn’t help clear anything up for him. If anything, it just made him more confused. “You’re Jonny’s mother?” He asked, as that was about the only thing he gathered from that whole explanation. 

“I am.” She confirmed. “Though, I doubt he would acknowledge me as such.” She let out a long sigh. 

Bertie had never heard anything about Jonny’s family before. The man didn’t seem to like talking much about himself. He just cracked jokes and changed the subject whenever Bertie asked him about who he had waiting for him back on Earth. If he had a strained relationship with his mother, that would explain why he did such things.

“Right, and so you saved me because I protected Jonny?” He guessed, shifting a bit so that his legs dangled off the side of the bed. 

“Oh, I did more than save you.” The doctor said. “I gave you another chance at life. A life that you could spend with a new family.” 

His brows knitted together. “What?”

“You’re a Mechanism now.” She explained patiently. “I have given you the gift of eternal life.” 

That made his head spin. “Eternal life?” He was beginning to think that this woman wasn’t all there in the head. “Right.” He decided to just play along. “Okay. So when do I get back to fighting?” He had a duty to fulfil, after all. He wondered what Tim would think when he told him about this doctor who claimed to be related to Jonny. 

“You don’t have to return if you do not wish to.” She said. “In fact, I think it would probably be best if you didn’t, as you are believed to be dead.” 

Dead? They thought he was  _ dead?  _ Tim thought he was dead? “Well, all the more reason to return.” He pointed out. “I can’t have them thinking I’m dead.” 

“It’s best if they think you’re dead.” She leaned back in her chair. “That way, they don’t ask too many questions when you refuse to age or die.” 

Bertie shook his head. “I have to get back to my friend.” He said. “I can’t have him thinking I’m not coming back.” 

The doctor looked at him curiously. “That’s right. You have a friend. My children told me about him.” She smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t worry too much about him. Just put him behind you.” 

Her blatant dismissal of Tim caused Bertie’s blood to boil. “I’m not going to just put him behind me.” He snapped. “I’m going to go back to him and tell him that I’m alright. He’s probably worried sick.” He rose to his feet, thrown off balance by the heaviness of his stomach. “I need to get back to him.” 

The doctor sighed. “As you wish.” She stood. “But you should at least rest first. Getting used to your mechanism takes time.” She placed a hand on his back. “There will be time to return. Wars don’t end overnight.” 

Suddenly, the entire room began to shake and lurch. The doctor appeared confused and concerned before dashing out of the door, Bertie on her heels. They made their way to a room with a large window, several other people already gathered in front of it. 

Through the window, a bright light was filling the sky, making it impossible to see anything else. Bertie shielded his eyes until the light began to fade, revealing large chunks of rubble floating through the vast emptiness of space. 

“What was that?” Bertie questioned, looking around at the others in the room. 

“Someone blew up the moon.” A person with red hair spoke up. “It’s gone.” 

Bertie stared, his heart sinking. “What?” No one could just blow up the moon. How would that even be possible? There were so many people on it and-

Tim. 

Tim was on the moon. 

No. No no no no  _ no.  _ That couldn’t be right. That couldn’t have happened. Tim couldn’t just be gone. 

Someone sighed. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to find whatever remains of Jonny in this mess.” 

“Or we could just leave him.” Someone else suggested hopefully. 

“We could leave the Toy Soldier.” The first person said. 

“We’re not leaving anyone.” The doctor spoke up. “Bertie, dear, why don’t you return to the med bay?” She placed a hand on his arm, which he immediately yanked away. 

Tim. Tim had been there. Tim had been fighting. 

In a flash, Bertie remembered Tim’s smile, his goofy grin when he thought he was being clever, how much he loved to play guitar and make up lyrics, how he smelled of oil and musk. He remembered how Tim had always been there for him, remembered how the rough skin of Tim’s hand felt in Bertie’s softer one. He remembered how Tim’s lips felt against his. 

And suddenly, Bertie realized that he loved Tim. That he’d always loved Tim. That nothing could ever stop him from loving Tim. 

But it was too late. 

Bertie fell to his knees, his entire body shaking. “No.” He breathed. “No.” He couldn’t have lost him. Not now. 

No one else seemed to pay him any mind besides the doctor, who helped him up and led him back to the med bay. He laid back down, unable to think, move, or even cry. He’d seen a lot of death in this blasted war, but the thought of losing Tim had never seemed like a real possibility. They couldn’t be separated. Not after all this time.

He didn’t know how long he laid there, completely unresponsive, before he drifted into an uneasy sleep. He had nightmares about Tim, about Tim calling his name, begging him to save him, questioning why Bertie wasn’t with him. When Bertie awoke, he was drenched in sweat. 

He made his way out of the med bay, needing to move and do  _ something  _ to distract himself. He found himself in a room with familiar faces. 

“Oh, look who it is.” Jonny grinned. “You’re awake, then.” 

Bertie just nodded mutely. It was as if some kind of filter was placed over the world to keep him from fully processing it. Everything seemed so dim and far away and fake. It was as though he was walking through a hazy dream. 

“Good.” Jonny stretched. “You know, your bestie lost in when he thought you’d died.” He laughed. “Blew up the whole damn moon.” 

“Huh?” Bertie blinked at him, not fully processing his words. “Tim? Tim was the one who…”

“Yup. Dashed into an escape pod just before everything blew up.” Jonny confirmed. “Poor bastard. I doubt he’ll survive for long.” 

Bertie stared, allowing the words to wash over him. “Tim’s alive?” 

“For now. Won’t be for long.” 

Then there was a chance. Tim was alive. He was alive! 

Bertie just had to save him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please tell me your thoughts on this!


End file.
